Lynx fall from ranks of the unbeaten in 83-82 overtime loss to Sun
The Lynx continue to work overtime, but this time they didn't get paid.
DeWanna Bonner's two free throws with 7.4 seconds left gave Connecticut (4-0) — the only undefeated team left in the WNBA — an 83-82 victory over the Lynx (2-1).
The Lynx led 79-74 after Courtney Williams scored with 1:41 left. But the Lynx were outscored 9-3 the rest of the way.
With 40.8 seconds left, former Lynx guard Rachel Banham tied the score at 79-79 with a three-pointer for the Sun.
Napheesa Collier scored 31 points with 11 rebounds, but missed one of two free throws with 36.1 seconds left that would have put the Lynx up two. Alyssa Thomas scored at the other end with 17.4 seconds left. Kayla McBride missed the game's final shot.
With 13.1 seconds left, McBride scored. But out of a timeout, Bonner was fouled by Collier and made both free throws.
Williams had 19 points, McBride 13.
Bonner scored 20 to lead the Sun. Brionna Jones had 19, Thomas 18.
The Lynx came out fast, outscoring the Sun 23-10 over the first eight-plus minutes of the game, before Connecticut ended the game on a 4-0 run.
Still, up 23-14, the Lynx went 10-for-16 in the first quarter, getting nine points from Collier and eight points and three assists from Williams. At the other end the Lynx held the Sun to 5-for-15 shooting. Thomas scored five points to lead the Sun, but was held without a rebound or assist in the quarter.
Unfortunately the Sun was just getting going. Taking advantage of a suddenly turnover-prone Lynx, Connecticut opened the second quarter 8-0 — making it a 12-0 run overall — to pull within a point just 2½ minutes into the quarter.
Out of a timeout, that run continued. A Collier turnover resulted in two free throws by Thomas. McBride missed a long three and Jones scored.
Finally the Sun's 16-0 run ended with McBride's made three.
But the Sun just kept rolling.
Bonner hit a three, then scored on a drive. A Lynx miss was turned into a fast-break bucket.
By the time Smith finally scored the Sun, on a 23-3 run, had built a seven-point lead.
But Smith's hoop was the start of a 7-0 run that tied the game on Williams' jumper. By halftime the sun was up 37-35 after a 23-12 second quarter.
The Lynx were 14-for-18 on two-pointers at the half, but had made just one of 10 three-pointers.
Connecticut pushed their lead to 48-42 on Bonner's three-pointer with 4:20 left in the third quarter, but the Lynx responded with a 9-0 run to take a 51-48 lead when Collier – who had six third-quarter points – hit a jumper with 1:37 left in the quarter.
But the Sun finished the quarter on a 4-0 run to take a one-point lead into the fourth quarter.
Note
* Diamond Miller was held out of action in the second half with a right knee issue. Miller had off-season surgery on her left knee.
The Star Tribune did not send the writer of this article to the game. This was written using a broadcast, interviews and other material.
